the_west_marchesfandomcom-20200214-history
Raven, the elemental werewolf
The party of five, made up of Kara, Dion, Helen, Lazarus and Izzy, ventured out in search of Deeprock cavern, a location Izzy had discovered while tracking the now-dead elemental werewolf that Varis had informed them about. After some shenanigans involving a Tiny Hut spell, the party followed a Winter Wolf to the mouth of the cave. The entrance was guarded by a group of winter and dire wolves, but it was nothing that a few Shatter spells, some sharp swordplay and even sharper wordplay couldn't dispatch. An animated door blocking the entrance to the cave opened after realising that Izzy was a lycanthrope, and the party ventured inside to find a caged gnome. Passing him, the group came across a werewolf in command of some winter wolves, and after a brief conversation about the community of werewolves, led by one ice-wielding elemental werewolf (henceforth named Darkbeasts) named Raven, the party entered combat. Freeing the gnome with keys taken from the werewolf, and leaving its unconscious body in the cage with one eye missing, the party advanced into the cave and along a long patch of slippery ice. This patch led to a grumpy ice elemental, which claimed that Raven and the other werewolves were 'busy' and blocked one of the paths ahead. One of the two remaining paths led to a portal, behind which was a puzzle reminiscent of those horrible ice-sliding sections in the ice gyms of the pokemon games. The other led to another sentient door, this one with a taste for jokes about ice and its fellow doors. Behind it lay a group of caged werewolves and a strange magic rope, which Izzy immediately wasted the magic on because they're STUPID. After looking through the other rooms, the elemental had transformed back into a large stalagmite, and a dark souls-esque wall of snow and sleet lay ahead of the party. Passing through lifted any magical effects, but there were none active that couldn't be quickly re-applied on the other side. Once passing through, the party found themselves face to face with the aforementioned Raven, who talked of Izzy's time many years ago as a feral Darkbeast; she spoke of their use of fire, their signature lightning, and a power Izzy hasn't yet exhibited, claws enthralled with death energy itself. A conversation ensued about the shared past between Izzy and Raven, revealing that the two knew each other long ago, and were members of a cabal of Darkbeasts who fought to keep peace and control the wilds, away from those who would judge and demean them. Talk soon shifted to the Tamed Conclave, the group that had once taught Izzy how to control the curse, and how Raven and her group had slain them. This sparked Izzy into a rage, who refused to return to Raven's side and let out a horrible screech, inciting combat. Raven was powerful, and had an assisting spellcaster, but between Dion and Helen's bardic inspiration and magic, Lazarus's composed battle mastery, Kara's divine-infused swordplay and Izzy's rage-fuelled animalistic strength, the Krakenfall party were victorious. But the three remaining members of Raven's group are still out there, and they will not let this go lightly.